This invention relates to the field of pressurized tank sprayers used for dispensing a fluid from a tank.
Pressurized tank sprayers are common tools in households throughout the world. These tank sprayers are typically used by individuals to disperse chemicals for lawn care, pest control, or other residential concerns.
Pressurized tank sprayers typically include a tank for holding chemicals and a lid that seals the tank air-tight. A hand pump is generally incorporated on the apparatus for introducing air into the sealed tank. Also, a hose is provided for channeling chemicals within the tank to a nozzle attached to the end of the hose. The user operates the hand pump to force air into the sealed tank, thereby increasing the pressure in the tank. The increased pressure in the tank forces the chemicals or other liquid in the tank through the hose and out the nozzle when the nozzle is operated.
A number of potential problems exist with the design of typical tank sprayers. First, if the tank is not adequately sealed, it will not retain pressure and will not be able to force liquid through the hose and out the nozzle. Therefore, a good seal between the lid and tank is required. O-ring seals are often used to provide the seal between the lid and the tank in pressurized tank sprayers. A significant amount of force is typically required to adequately compress the O-ring and establish a seal in these sprayers. Unfortunately, many individuals are not strong enough to compress the lid to the tank in a manner that provides a good O-ring seal. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a pressurized tank sprayer requiring less force to properly seal the lid to the tank.
Another problem with previous pressurized tank sprayers is that a user of the sprayer may fail to open the pressure relief valve and relieve the pressure from the tank before attempting to remove the lid from the tank. When the user forgets to properly relieve the increased pressure in the tank before attempting to remove the lid, the pressure within the tank may cause the lid to become forcibly detached from the tank during such removal attempt. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a pressurized tank sprayer having a safety feature that automatically relieves excess pressure within a tank when a user is attempting to remove the lid from the pressurized tank.